


Relationships Don't Just Happen

by Marks



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Retail, Awkward Crush, Background IwaOi - Freeform, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M, Tsukkiyama Exchange, awkward everything, save yamaguchi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 00:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13492908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marks/pseuds/Marks
Summary: Yamaguchi sometimes put himself into their male customers’ shoes. He couldn’t really help it; something buried deep inside wanted someone to fawn over him and tell him he was doing everything perfectly. And sure, he probably could casually drop that into a conversation with Tanaka or Sugawara and they’d accommodate him, but as it turned out, Yamaguchi was also a little bit of a masochist. Because the only model whose attention he wanted was Tsukishima Kei’s.





	Relationships Don't Just Happen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [qingting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/qingting/gifts).



> This exchange gift is for yaoyoroses@tumblr, aka qingting! I was really happy to get your request because I, too, love a good fake dating trope, and have been looking for an excuse to write a full AU for these two for a while. I also noticed you like IwaOi a whole lot, so I threw in a blink-and-it's-gone cameo for them, too.
> 
> Everyone else: comments and kudos are great! If you're looking for me elsewhere, it's all listed in my profile.

No one was at the counter, and that was the worst.  
   
Yamaguchi liked being busy through his whole shift, and there were really only so many times a guy could wipe down his register or straighten out the displays of last-minute accessory purchases. He couldn’t even go out on the floor to refold because three of the models were in today, and that was their job when they weren’t assisting customers.  
   
Today, Oikawa, Kageyama, and Tanaka were the models on duty. Oikawa and Kageyama were bumping a volleyball back and forth in the store’s seasonal-display sandpit, Oikawa griping through a clenched-teeth smile whenever Kageyama returned the ball a little too hard. Tanaka, shirtless, but with one of this season’s light cashmere cardigans casually flung over his shoulder, was chatting with their only customer, a tiny quiet girl who was looking for a birthday present for her boyfriend.  
   
Yamaguchi started to yawn, abruptly stifling it when Tanaka started steering the girl and her stack of purchases in his direction.  
   
“He’s going to love them,” Tanaka was assuring her. “I know if a cute girl bought me so much awesome stuff, I’d be so grateful and probably buy her a whole load of presents right back.” Then he winked, exaggeratedly. Yamaguchi would have rolled his eyes if the girl wasn’t standing right there. “Tadashi will take care of you.”  
   
“Tadashi’s my boyfriend’s name, too!” the girl exclaimed.  
   
Tanaka punched the air, something he did pretty often so the customers would notice his biceps. “See? That’s proof this is all fate’s red string winding you two closer together.”  
   
Yamaguchi noticed Kageyama mouthing _what the hell?_ behind Tanaka’s back and had to stifle a laugh, biting his bottom lip as he started ringing up her purchases.  
   
“Have a nice day!” Yamaguchi said and handed over her bags.  
   
“Come back to us soon,” the models all chimed in unison as the customer walked out. “We’ll be waiting.” She giggled and waved as she left.  
   
That left the store completely empty. Things would probably pick up in a couple of hours, but early Sunday morning just wasn’t the busiest time for a combination men’s clothing/dream boy store. They mostly catered to girls and women shopping for their boyfriends or husbands, but sometimes a guy would come in to shop for himself and Yamaguchi would almost die of envy, admiring their bravery as the model guys flocked all around, flattering the same way they did with their women customers.  
   
Yamaguchi sometimes put himself into their male customers’ shoes. He couldn’t really help it; something buried deep inside wanted someone to fawn over him and tell him he was doing everything perfectly. And sure, he probably could casually drop that into a conversation with Tanaka or Sugawara and they’d accommodate him, but as it turned out, Yamaguchi was also a little bit of a masochist. Because the only model whose attention he wanted was Tsukishima Kei’s.  
   
It was easy to see how Tsukishima got his job. He hadn’t even _applied_ ; he was just walking past the store when their manager, Sawamura, spotted him and took off at a run, dragging a befuddled and sort of pissed stranger back inside with him a few minutes later. But Sawamura had a way of convincing anyone into anything, and the next thing they all knew, they’d added a tall, blond, grumpy megane to their roster of model types.  
   
Yamaguchi had been working the register that shift, too, and had stood up straight as soon as he’d spotted Tsukishima. It turned out tall, blond, and grumpy wasn’t just one of their model types, but Yamaguchi’s type, too. Not that it mattered – Tsukishima barely even seemed to notice him when Sawamura introduced him around.

Well, at least Tsukishima hadn’t noticed him until the naming incident.  
   
The problem with Tsukishima definitely being Yamaguchi’s type meant that Yamaguchi was definitely tongue-tied around him. And when showing him the basics of the register and the bar code reader, just in case Tsukishima ever had to jump on if it got really busy, Yamaguchi looked up and locked eyes with Tsukishima’s. His mouth went dry and he couldn’t speak anymore. Trying to ask “Do you think you’ve got it, Tsukishima-kun?” turned into a blurted, “You’ve got me, Tsukki!”  
    
But to Yamaguchi’s amazement, Tsukishima didn’t get mad at the sudden inappropriate nickname. He didn’t even ignore it completely. Instead, his mouth stretched into a tiny, amused smile and Yamaguchi’s stomach flipped.  
   
“I didn’t know we were so familiar,” Tsukishima said.  
   
Yamaguchi covered his face with his hands. “Ugh. Sorry.”  
   
“It’s fine. You can call me that if you want,” Tsukishima said. Yamaguchi peeked at him through his fingers. “But I’m just going to call you Yamaguchi, okay?”  
   
That’s exactly when Tsukishima went from being Yamaguchi’s type to being Yamaguchi’s crush. And _that_ had been going on for a couple of months now. It would be great if the universe could end his misery now, thanks.  
   
Then, as though the universe heard Yamaguchi’s request and came back with an answer of _haha nope_ , Tsukishima came skidding into the store just then, a wild look in his eyes, which dammit, was as attractive as his usual bored looks, and ran up to the counter.  
   
“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima gasped, trying to catch his breath, “I need you to pretend you’re my boyfriend.”  
   
Yamaguchi blinked. “Uh.”  
   
Before he could say anything else, Tsukishima jumped up and slid across the counter, casually draping his arm around Yamaguchi’s shoulder and suddenly no longer out of breath. Yamaguchi, who was now having trouble breathing himself, opened his mouth to ask a lot of questions, just as the shop’s door opened again and another tall blond walked through. He looked a lot like Tsukishima, if Tsukishima started wearing contacts and happier expressions.  
   
“Kei, why the hell did you run ahead?”  
   
“I, uh, couldn’t wait to see Tadashi,” Tsukishima said, sounding about as convincing as something that wasn’t very convincing, but the other guy didn’t seem to notice. Out on the floor, Tanaka and Kageyama were shrugging at each other, and Oikawa was muffling laughter with his hand.  
   
Tsukishima squeezed Yamaguchi’s shoulder and pulled him in tight against his side. This, Yamaguchi had to admit, was having an effect on him. He couldn’t help it! Sure, he was confused and maybe a little offended by how unconvincing Tsukishima was, but his crush had his arm around him and they were pressed against each other from Yamaguchi’s shoulder to his ankle. And that was just... so nice.

Yamaguchi then remembered he was supposed to be pretending to be Tsukishima’s boyfriend and turned so his body was angled toward Tsukishima’s. Then, with a deep breath, he called up every ounce of bravery he had and placed his palm flat against Tsukishima’s chest. That was warm, too, and weird because Tsukishima’s heart was racing a mile a minute for some reason; Yamaguchi then remembered that he’d just been running. He cleared his throat. “Um. Who’s this, Tsukki?”  
   
The other blond guy clicked his tongue in disappointment, which also reminded Yamaguchi of Tsukishima. “You mean you haven’t told your new boyfriend about your handsome and smart brother?”

“I would have if I had one,” Tsukishima retorted. “Yam – uh, Tadashi, this is my older brother, Akiteru. Unfortunately, we’re related. His looks and intelligence are debatable.”

Yamaguchi grinned. “You two look alike,” he said, and that was it for Oikawa, who let out a loud peal of laughter and had to go into the back. Luckily for Tsukishima, two women walked in just then, effectively distracting the other models.  
   
Akiteru looked all around the store, watching for a bit as Kageyama helped one of customers pick out something for her father. She picked out a tie patterned with dogs and asked what Kageyama thought. “Dogs are cool, I guess,” he said gruffly, looking down at his feet and going red in the face. It was cute, and Yamaguchi had known Kageyama long enough to know that it wasn’t an act. Some of the models could play different roles with different customers, but Kageyama always did his best work when he was just himself. Tsukishima once said he was the king of acting like an idiot, but lots of people liked idiots. Yamaguchi had laughed at that and felt a little bad about it after. Though, to be fair, Tsukishima wasn’t exactly wrong.  
   
And sure enough, as soon as Kageyama blushed and generally approved of dogs, the girl came over to the counter with a matching pair of socks. Tsukishima pulled away to let Yamaguchi do his job, walking around the counter to join his brother again. Yamaguchi didn’t like losing Tsukishima’s warmth, but told himself to not to get carried away, considering the circumstances. This was definitely a one-time thing and he should just be happy he got the scraps he did. Yamaguchi helped both customers quickly; once they were gone, he tuned into the conversation Tsukishima and his brother were having again.  
   
“See?” Tsukishima was saying. “I told you he was real. Now you can stop trying to set me up with the interns at your job. Who the hell wants to go out with their supervisor’s little brother, anyway?”

It was probably because they saw pictures of him, Yamaguchi thought. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance?  
   
“Yes, I see he’s real, Kei. I believe you now! But remember you tried telling me you had a girlfriend in Canada before you came out? You understand why I’d be suspicious.” Akiteru lightly punched his brother in the arm.  
   
“I didn’t lie to you back then because I was closeted,” Tsukishima said, but Yamaguchi didn’t miss the way he wouldn’t quite meet his brother’s eyes or the slight color in his cheeks. “I did it because I wanted you to stop bothering me.” He straightened up to his full height and smoothed down the front of his shirt. “So stop bothering me.”  
   
Akiteru nodded. “I will.” Then he grinned. “At least I’ll stop bothering you about that.”  
   
“Oh no.”  
   
“Oh _yes_.” Akiteru turned toward Yamaguchi. “Our parents will want to meet you, too. You should have dinner at their house, soon.” Yamaguchi opened his mouth to protest, but Akiteru held up his hand. “No excuses, no turning it down, no letting Kei convince you that this very good idea is a very bad idea. I’ll get Kei to send you the details.” He looked at his watch. “Crap! I’ve got to get back to the office. See you later, Kei. Nice to finally meet you, Tadashi.”  
   
Tsukishima’s brother waved to everyone and left; as soon as he was gone, Tsukishima let out a breath and sagged against the counter.  
   
Yamaguchi leaned across it and started saying in a nervous voice, “Hey, it’s okay –“  
   
“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” said Tsukishima, cutting him off. “Ugh. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this, but I’m so _sick_ of him trying to insert himself into my dating life. There’s nothing wrong with not liking blind dates.”

“That’s true,” Yamaguchi said. “Last year, my mom set me up with one of her friends’ daughters once and, well, it didn’t go well.”  
   
“Why not?” Tsukishima asked. He was still maintaining his sulky counter sag posture, but he was also now looking in Yamaguchi’s direction, his eyes trained intently on Yamaguchi’s face. Having Tsukishima’s full attention was kind of unnerving, though in a way that made Yamaguchi wish it would happen again and again.  
   
“We had nothing in common,” Yamaguchi said. “Also, she already had a boyfriend _and_ a girlfriend she was keeping secret from her family, though she was pretty nice about letting me down gently. Plus, she still paid for our meal. I’m a poor university student working retail. I’ll always take a free meal.”  
   
Tsukishima laughed at that, then seemed surprised to find himself laughing when it wasn’t at someone else’s expense. He stood up straight again. “I know that had to be pretty unexpected, so thanks for playing along. But I’ll wait a day and then tell Akiteru what happened, so you’re off the hook.”  
   
“No!” Yamaguchi said. “I mean, I don’t mind you using me if it’ll get your family off your back.”

“You don’t?” Tsukishima asked. “So what do you get out of it?”

“Well, we’re friends, aren’t we?” Yamaguchi asked. Tsukishima’s eyes widened fractionally, and then he gave a quick nod. “Besides,” Yamaguchi added, “I get a meal out of it. Like I said, give me free food and I’m there. Is your mom’s cooking any good?”  
   
Tsukishima shook his head. “It’s terrible. She once tried boiling water, but forgot about it until all the water evaporated and the pot started burning,” he said. “But my father’s is amazing.”  
   
“Just as good,” Yamaguchi said and grinned.  
   
“Give me your phone,” Tsukishima said. Yamaguchi handed it over and Tsukishima put in all of his information, then messaged himself from Yamaguchi’s phone so they had each other’s numbers before handing it back. “There. Okay. I bet you regret this.”  
   
Yamaguchi thought he would, too, but not for the reasons Tsukishima thought. He started the day with a crush, and ended it knowing his crush’s phone number, email address, LINE, and where his parents lived because he was pretending to be his boyfriend. Hope was an awful, wonderful thing, and he could already feel the beginnings of it taking root in his heart.  
   
*

This was pathetic.  
   
Yamaguchi was lying on his bed, holding his phone out over his face and staring at Tsukishima’s contact information. 

“Just text him, loser,” he muttered to himself. “What’s he going to do, bite you through the phone?” He decided to forget the fact that he’d very much like Tsukishima to bite him.  
   
“Did you say something?” Hinata, Yamaguchi’s roommate, popped his head into the doorway, making Yamaguchi fumble and drop his phone onto his face. “Ouch. You okay?”  
   
Yamaguchi sighed. Usually he was very happy to see Hinata; they’d decided to rent an apartment together after hitting it off during cashier training, and it wasn’t even annoying when they were assigned to the same shifts after hanging out at home together all day. Right now, though, Yamaguchi didn’t know if he could handle Hinata’s natural pep. “I wasn’t talking to you,” he said.  
   
“Talking to yourself?” Hinata asked brightly. “Don’t worry, that’s totally normal! I do it all the time.”  
   
“That’s very reassuring,” Yamaguchi said, sitting up in bed and rubbing his forehead where his phone had hit it.  
   
Hinata flopped down on the end of Yamaguchi’s bed and grinned widely. There was something off about him just then; he seemed to be vibrating with excitement, and even though that was kind of Hinata’s usual state, this was just _more_ than usual. “So,” Hinata said, fake-casual, and oh, here it was, “I hear you had an exciting day at work.”

Yamaguchi’s forehead rubbing increased speed. It felt like the beginning of a headache was coming on. “Who told you?”

“Kageyama!” Hinata said immediately, not wasting any time ratting him out. “He seemed a little confused by the whole thing, wondering if you and Tsukishima were _really_ dating, but I told him you’d never be interested in that douchebag.”  
   
Yamaguchi stared hard at his floor. “Well, we’re not really dating, so you’re right about half of it.”  
   
Hinata paused for a moment. Then he wailed, “Nooooo! Yamaguchi, come on, really? _Tsukishima_?!” Hinata made circles out of both of his hands and put them up to his face like glasses. “‘Can someone as short as you even see over the counter?’” he asked in monotone, then let out a sharp, derisive laugh. As far as impressions went, his Tsukishima was pretty decent.  
   
Yamaguchi sighed. “He’s funny. And smart. And tall. And hot, come on, Hinata, you can’t deny that. You _see_ how people gravitate toward him when he’s on a shift and, let’s face it, Tsukki’s customer service isn’t the best.” He shrugged. “Plus, he’s nice to me. He bought me coffee when I forgot my wallet last week, and he wouldn’t even let me pay him back.”  
   
“He is nicer to you than most people,” Hinata admitted. Then he clapped his hands. “Okay, I’ve decided! I’ll support your confession.”  
   
Yamaguchi started to shake his head, trying to tell Hinata that he had no intention of confessing, but just then his phone started vibrating with a facetime request from Tsukishima.  
   
“Ooh!” Hinata said. “Answer it. Answer answer answeransweranswer –”

“God, okay!” Yamaguchi jabbed at his screen, only for Hinata to lean so far over into his lap that his face blocked the whole screen.  
   
“What the hell?” Tsukishima said, reasonably.  
   
“Hurt him and I’ll kill you,” Hinata said, sounding more like a demon from hell than himself.  
   
“Hinata!” Yamaguchi hissed, shoving the side of Hinata’s face and pushing him off the bed. “Stop it. Get out of here.”  
   
“I know where you live, Tsukishima,” Hinata threatened from the floor. Then he crawled out of Yamaguchi’s room, closing the door behind him.  
   
“What the hell?” Tsukishima said again. He looked baffled and maybe a little pissed off. He also looked way too good for someone staring into a front-facing camera, having changed his shirt from earlier into a white t-shirt with a worn-out neck. That was really unfair because it gave Yamaguchi a great look at his collarbones.  
   
“I’m so sorry,” Yamaguchi managed, forcing himself to look only at Tsukishima’s face. “I have no idea what that was about and he doesn’t know where you live.” He paused. “At least, I don’t think he does. Anyway! What’s up?”  
   
“Oh. My parents are free for dinner this Friday,” said Tsukishima. “Will that work for you?”  
   
Yamaguchi nodded. He worked some Fridays, but he could probably trade shifts with Hinata if he needed to. But he didn’t understand why Tsukishima called him just for that; he could have texted that information easily.  
   
“Good.” Then Tsukishima cleared his throat and sat up straight, suddenly all business. Also all collarbones because his t-shirt pulled again, but Yamaguchi determinedly kept his eyes up. “So I was thinking,” Tsukishima said, “I don’t think we seem like a convincing couple.”

And Yamaguchi got that. Tsukishima was way out of his league and that would be obvious to everyone, including his parents. Probably Tsukishima’s idea was to plan a big fake breakup right there at dinner. “Well, we’re not a couple,” Yamaguchi pointed out, proud of himself from keeping his wistful tone inside his head.  
   
“Right. So my idea is we should practice.”

“Oh sure,” Yamaguchi agreed immediately. Then comprehension dawned. “Wait, what?”  
   
“Practice,” Tsukishima said. “You know, go on pretend dates, get to know each other, get used to holding hands, kissing, that sort of thing. That way, by the time Friday rolls around, no one will doubt us. I have class in the morning, and I think we’re both working in the afternoon, but we could grab lunch tomorrow and then head in to work together.”  
   
Yamaguchi’s brain got stuck in a whir-click at _get used to holding hands, kissing_. He didn’t blink or answer for so long that Tsukishima tapped at his screen, probably thinking the picture was frozen. “Uh,” Yamaguchi said eventually. He swallowed hard and his throat felt filled up with sand. “Uh yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

“Great.” Tsukishima adjusted his glasses, business-like. “I’ll meet you out in front of the crepe place right near work, then, around twelve. You know the one, right?”

Yamaguchi did. He’d never been inside, not having much of a sweet tooth himself, but it was adorable knowing Tsukishima did. “I’ll be there,” he said. He even managed to sound mostly normal saying it. “See you tomorrow, Tsukki.”

“Good night, Yam – Tadashi.” Tsukishima laughed to himself. “I really have to stop messing that up. Let me try again.” He took a deep breath, stared into the camera and said in a low voice, “Good night, Tadashi. Sleep well.” Then he hung up.  
   
Yamaguchi let out a low groan once Tsukishima’s face disappeared. He really doubted he’d be sleeping well that night.  
   
*  
   
Tsukishima was already waiting outside the crepe place when Yamaguchi walked up the next day, which made sense because Yamaguchi was running a few minutes late. Nothing like making a good impression on his first ever fake date.

“Sorry about that,” Yamaguchi said, a little out breath. “The trains were packed and running behind. I nearly got trampled trying to get out of the station.”

“Hmm,” Tsukishima said, peering over the top of his glasses. He pressed two fingers to the middle of Yamaguchi’s forehead, making Yamaguchi freeze up at the unexpected contact. “Yes, I think I can see footprints just here.”  
   
_Crap,_ Yamaguchi thought. That was too cute and left him even more tongue-tied than usual. Then Tsukishima turned around and went inside, holding the door open for Yamaguchi as he went.  
   
The restaurant was small, but pretty nice. The menu featured savory crepes along with the typical dessert ones, so Yamaguchi got to have a normal lunch while goggling at the amount of whipped cream the person behind the counter, a guy with dark, messy hair, put on Tsukishima’s strawberry crepe. The other person working, a happy-looking waiter with spiky hair and biceps as big as Yamaguchi’s thigh, brought their orders over to the table.  
   
“Your usual,” Big Biceps said, plopping the strawberries-and-cream monstrosity in front of Tsukishima and another plate in front of Yamaguchi. “And the human order for your cute date. Tsukishima, bringing a date here! I’m so proud of you!”  
   
“Oh, we’re not –” Yamaguchi started to say.  
   
“Thank you,” Tsukishima interrupted. “Now go away, Bokuto.”  
   
“You should probably change your name to Go Away Bokuto,” dark, messy hair called. He was leaning over the counter with his chin propped up in one hand and smirking. “At least when Tsukishima’s around, that is.”  
   
“Only if you change your name to Mind Your Own Business Kuroo,” Bokuto said, walking back around the counter. The crepe guys grinned at each other.  
   
Tsukishima sighed heavily. “Don’t mind them,” he said. “They’re very bothersome, but their food is good. That’s the only reason I keep coming back.”  
   
“It’s okay, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi assured him.  
   
“ _Tsukki_ ,” Bokuto and Kuroo cooed in unison.  
   
“Shut up, idiots!” Tsukishima said, turning in his chair. “Stop eavesdropping.”  
   
Luckily, just then a bunch of high school girls walked into the store with complicated orders, sufficiently distracting Bokuto and Kuroo from their not-date. And Tsukishima was right; the crepes were delicious. But what was even better was the way Tsukishima dug into his. Not only did he devour it like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, but he made little involuntary _mmm_ noises every few bites and when he was done, he swirled his finger around his plate, popping it into his mouth to make sure he didn’t miss out on any leftover cream.  
   
“Maybe I should have gotten that one,” Yamaguchi said, grinning as Tsukishima sagged happily in his chair. “You and the crepes really had a moment there.”  
   
Tsukishima went a little red in the face. Then he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. “So was this an okay place for a fake date?”

Yamaguchi considered this. “Well, for a real date, I probably wouldn’t recommend inhaling your food before starting a conversation,” he said. “But for a fake date, it seems about right. Full marks!”  
   
“Ugh,” Tsukishima said. “If it’s not abundantly obvious, I don’t have a ton of experience dating, other than a few ill-advised hookups in high school.” That was hard to believe, but Yamaguchi had no real reason to doubt him. “That’s why my brother was on my case in the first place.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “He thinks having a boyfriend would make me happier.”  


“Expecting another person to make you happier seems doomed,” said Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima nodded. “That’s exactly what I said.”

“Still,” Yamaguchi went on, “it’s also nice to have someone you can rely on, and someone to wake up to. I think in general most people get pretty lonely all by themselves.” He stopped suddenly, realizing how that must sound. “Uh! Not that you’re lonely!” Yamaguchi let out an awkward little laugh. “It’s not like I’m seeing anyone either. I just like thinking about it sometimes.”

“So are you looking for a girlfriend then?” Tsukishima asked. He paused, then added, “Or a boyfriend?” Yamaguchi probably just imagined his nervousness in his voice at that addition.  
   
“Either,” Yamaguchi said, waving his hand, “and I think so? I’m definitely not opposed.” _Definitely not opposed to you, specifically,_ he wanted to add, but didn’t. Yamaguchi exhaled. “Wow! This got suddenly serious, didn’t it?”  
   
“God, human emotions. What a nightmare,” Tsukishima said, which wasn’t really an answer, but made Yamaguchi laugh anyway. “Anyway, I was thinking about our next fake date. Can I take you to a movie tomorrow night? I know you’re not working.”  
   
“A real movie or a fake one?”

“Fake date, real movie,” Tsukishima clarified. “Real popcorn if you want, too, and I’ll even pay for the whole thing so you don’t have to use your real money.” Which all sounded like a real date to Yamaguchi, but he knew he was just seeing things that weren’t there. Tsukishima was just grateful someone was willing to help get his brother off his back.  
   
“I’m in,” Yamaguchi said. “Just text me the details later.”

“Okay,” Tsukishima said. “Now, let’s get going before we’re both late for work.”

Yamaguchi looked at his phone, surprised to find that over an hour had come and gone in a blink. “God! Where did all the time go?”  
   
“Probably too busy holding up the trains,” Tsukishima said wryly, making Yamaguchi crack up. Then Tsukishima threw some money on the table, enough to cover both their meals, and held out his hand to help Yamaguchi to his feet. He didn’t let go after. “Hand-holding,” Tsukishima explained in a quiet voice, as he casually laced his fingers together with Yamaguchi’s. “The next step to making us look like a real couple.”  
   
They started walking out together, and Yamaguchi tried not to think too hard about how sweaty his palms were getting or how real and strong Tsukishima’s grip was. No matter how things looked, this was temporary and he should enjoy it while it lasted. Maybe if he repeated that to himself often enough, he’d finally be able to let Tsukishima go.

“ _Aww_ ,” Bokuto and Kuroo called from across the room, spotting their joined hands.  
   
“See?” Tsukishima said, leaning in to murmur directly into Yamaguchi’s ear. “You’re a natural at this whole fake dating thing.”

Sure, he was. Naturally screwed.  
   
*  
   
They were still holding hands when they got to work. Hinata spotted them immediately – Yamaguchi felt like he could actually see the dotted line connecting his eyes to their joined hands – and he gave Yamaguchi a series of rapid-fire thumbs-up.  
   
“Does he have to go to the bathroom?” Tsukishima muttered under his breath, and Yamaguchi snickered.  
   
Sawamura and his assistant manager, Shimizu-san, dragged Tsukishima away then to get him dressed in their new line of casual workwear for the up-and-coming independent professional, whatever that meant, which meant Tsukishima had to let go. As Yamaguchi walked over to the counter and stored his stuff underneath, his hand actually tingled at the loss.  
   
Hinata’s eyes were shining. “ _Yamaguchi_ –”  
   
“Don’t,” Yamaguchi said. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“How can holding hands not be what it looks like?” Hinata asked, which honestly was a pretty reasonable question.  
   
“We’re having practice dates,” Yamaguchi said. He wouldn’t look at Hinata as he punched his access code into the register, signing into his shift.

“What?” Hinata asked, again reasonably.  
   
Yamaguchi sighed and scrubbed at his face with his hands. “The other night when Tsukishima called, it wasn’t because he wants to date me. We’re pretending to date so his brother will stop trying to set him up with people he knows.”  


“But his brother isn’t even around right now,” Hinata pointed out. Yamaguchi wondered when Hinata developed such a firm grip on logic.  
   
“Tsukishima wanted to practice doing dating things so when we go to dinner at his parents next week, everyone will think we’re a believable couple.” Yamaguchi shrugged. “I said I’d do it; any internal crisis I’m having over it isn’t Tsukki’s fault. He doesn’t know how I feel.”  
   
“Oh-kay,” Hinata said slowly. “You’re hurting my head, but you know I support you!”  
   
Truthfully, Yamaguchi couldn’t blame him. This whole thing was kind of hurting his head. It was hurting his heart, too. Every time Yamaguchi thought about the rest of the week, he was torn between anticipation and dread, but the dread never overwhelmed the anticipation enough to call the whole thing off. It was like Tsukishima was Yamaguchi’s drug of choice, and he was already addicted.  
   
A customer came up to Hinata’s station then with her purchases, ending their conversation for the moment. This was a good and bad thing – good because Yamaguchi could push away his misgivings for a little while more, and bad because Yamaguchi wasn’t distracted enough to miss Tsukishima coming out onto the floor.  
   
Casual workwear for the up-and-coming independent professional, again whatever that was, turned out to be totally Tsukishima’s thing. He was wearing dark trousers and short boots with a dark green sweater layered over a button-down shirt. The shirttails stuck out of the bottom of the sweater, and the green from the sweater brought out his eyes, even from across the room. Tsukishima adjusted his cuffs, looking every bit like a page from a catalog had just come to life and walked into the store. Yamaguchi closed his eyes briefly; he felt dazzled, like he’d accidentally stared into the sun, but when he opened them again Tsukishima looked right at him and shot him a little smile.  
   
Damn.  
   
Yamaguchi’s face heated up instantly and he stared down, the numbers on the register starting to swim. He had no idea how he was supposed to focus with _that_ standing a few meters away.  
   
Fortunately, his shift turned out to be a pretty busy one. Yamaguchi kept ringing up purchases, helping customers often enough that he couldn’t even have a proper conversation with Hinata for most of it. It was so busy that some of the models had to help two customers at a time; Oikawa’s boyfriend, Iwaizumi, came in after his volleyball practice and wound up pretending he worked there, too, helping two mothers pick out workout gear for their teenage sons. When Oikawa’s shift was over, Iwaizumi left with him, griping about how useless Oikawa must be to need his help, but Yamaguchi could tell he wasn’t really bothered. It was cute, and Yamaguchi was a little bit envious. 

Okay, more than a little.  
   
The point when things got really terrible/wonderful was when the floor was still busy, but the counter had a lull. That meant Yamaguchi could watch Tsukishima interact with customers. He’d probably never be the best at interacting with people, but Yamaguchi could tell the customers loved it whenever they got a reaction out of him. One girl held up a sweater patterned with a dinosaur wearing headphones and asked for Tsukishima’s opinion, and Yamaguchi could just tell how much he approved. His eyes went wide with appreciation when she held it up to Tsukishima’s front, saying her boyfriend was about the same size.  
   
“Ooh, it looks so nice on you!” she exclaimed. “I think I’m going to buy it.”

“Do what you want,” Tsukishima said, but Yamaguchi caught him glancing back at the stack of sweaters afterward. Both Yamaguchi and the girl smiled at that.  
   
When she was all done shopping, Tsukishima led her over to Yamaguchi’s register. “This is our best cashier,” Tsukishima said. “You can trust him with anything.”

“Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, embarrassed.  
   
The girl was rustling through the accessories next to the register. She made a triumphant noise and held up a keychain with a blue stegosaurus dangling from the end. “I think I’ll get this, too. You like it, don’t you, Kei-kun?”  
   
“It’s fine,” Tsukishima agreed. “Get it, if you want.” Then he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and walked away. But Yamaguchi didn’t miss how his expression changed when the customer held it up.   
   
“God, he’s just like my boyfriend,” the girl said, laughing. “It’s stupid, but I feel so proud that I can get Taka to react when no one else can.”  
   
“That’s not stupid at all,” Yamaguchi said and smiled, folding up her purchases and putting them into a shopping bag. Then he looked out onto the floor, finding Tsukishima watching them. A happy little shiver made its way down Yamaguchi’s spine. He handed the girl her bags. “Here you go, miss.”

Once she was gone, Yamaguchi dug through the counter bins, too, until he came up with another stegosaurus, this time in green, the same shade as Tsukishima’s sweater. He felt a little embarrassed about it, but that didn’t stop him from putting it aside for himself.  
   
“Ooh,” Hinata muttered under his breath, noticing, “you’ve got it bad.”  
   
He didn’t know the half of it.  
   
*  
   
When they met up at the movies the following night, it was Yamaguchi who was left standing around. After waiting for ten minutes, he sent Tsukishima a text saying, _So am I being fake stood up?_ It came off casual, maybe even kind of cool, and Yamaguchi was proud of himself.  
   
A moment later, Tsukishima sent him a train emoji. Yamaguchi smiled to himself, fond, and then jumped a foot in the air when Tsukishima tapped him on the shoulder. He bent over and clutched his chest, but he didn’t know if that was because of the jump scare or seeing Tsukishima’s pretty face. Probably a little of both. Either way, he was too young to die.  
   
“It seems public transportation doesn’t approve of us fake dating,” said Tsukishima.  
   
“Looks that way! I wonder how it feels about real dating,” Yamaguchi said, and let out a nervous little laugh as soon as he realized what he’d said. He needed to trade in his mouth and brain for properly working ones as soon as possible. He also needed to change the subject fast. “Before I forget, I got you something.” Yamaguchi fished through his pockets, patting them down and telling Tsukishima to wait a minute, until he finally found his prize. “Ah ha!” said Yamaguchi triumphantly. He dangled the little green stegosaurus in front of Tsukishima’s face.

Tsukishima stared at it, his eyes unusually shiny. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Should I take it back then?” Yamaguchi teased. But he didn’t wait for Tsukishima’s answer; instead, he dropped it into his hand and then closed his fingers over it. “It made me think of you. I thought you might like it.”  
   
“It’s – it’s okay, I guess,” Tsukishima mumbled, holding his fist tightly closed. Then he abruptly shoved the keychain into his pocket and walked inside to buy their tickets.  
   
The movie they were seeing was a shoot-em-up action flick, the kind filled with car chases and stunt doubles taking daring dives from skyscrapers. From what Yamaguchi could tell, it seemed fun but not particularly deep.

“This doesn’t seem like your kind of thing,” Yamaguchi said as they walked over to the concession stand and got in line.

“What doesn’t?” Tsukishima asked. “Popcorn? Movies? Going out in public?”

“Definitely that last one. Who let you out, anyway?” Yamaguchi teased. Tsukishima snorted. “No, the action movie thing. I don’t know, I guess I pictured you reading tiny little poetry books and watching subtitled French films in your spare time. Maybe you drink wine sometimes and comment on the bouquet. Isn’t that what smart people do?”  
   
Tsukishima nodded. “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” he said, leaning in conspiratorially. “Glasses make everyone think you’re smarter than you really are.”

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi scolded. “I know you’re smart. Aren’t you studying biochemistry?”

Tsukishima looked surprised that Yamaguchi remembered, but Yamaguchi had filed that away the second Tsukishima told him during a work break. Was it weird that he remembered? Yamaguchi stared down at his feet.

“You know a lot about me, don’t you, Yamaguchi?”  
   
Yamaguchi shrugged as they moved further up in line. “I guess,” he said, quickly adding, “but I could know more.”  
   
Tsukishima breathed out hard then, but that could have meant anything. “I’m good at school,” he eventually admitted. “But I’m not that big into culture. I don’t know much about film, or art. Wine’s okay, only as long as it’s sweet enough. And I was a jock in high school.”

“You were?” Yamaguchi said doubtfully, looking Tsukishima up-and-down.  
   
“Okay, not a jock,” Tsukishima said. “But I played volleyball for like ten years. And I like stupid action movies.”  
   
Yamaguchi grinned. “I was also a volleyball not-jock,” he said. “And I like stupid action movies, too. It sounds like we would have gotten along if we’d met earlier.”

“Maybe,” was all Tsukishima said, but he sounded happy about it, and he reached over to grab Yamaguchi’s hand again. “More practice,” he said.  
   
“Right,” Yamaguchi agreed and bit back a sigh. They made it up to the front of the line, Tsukishima tugging Yamaguchi along to the counter.  
   
The short girl behind the counter started turning toward them. “Hi, what can I get you today – oh my gosh, Yamaguchi-kun!”  
   
Yamaguchi was confused for a moment, then suddenly recognition dawned. “Yachi-san!” he exclaimed with equal excitement. “I didn’t recognize you with that hat.”

Yachi made a distressed sound and reached up to pat her baseball cap. “It’s either this or wear a hairnet. Is it okay?”  
   
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Yamaguchi assured her. “How have you been anyway? I don’t think I’ve seen you since graduation.”  
   
“I’m doing great!” Yachi said. “I mean, other than all my clothes smelling like fake butter all the time.”

Yamaguchi and Yachi had gone to high school together. It felt like a million years ago, even though it was just two. Time was funny that way. They’d met when Yachi took over as manager for the school’s pretty terrible volleyball club, and though the team’s record didn’t improve with her addition, the overall mood definitely improved. Yamaguchi even thought he had a crush on her back then, but compared to what he now felt for Tsukishima, that had been more like a gentle press than a giant crush.  
   
Speaking of, Tsukishima shifted next to him and cleared his throat. Somehow during Yamaguchi’s excitement, they’d stopped holding hands.

“Ah!” Yamaguchi said. “Yachi-san, this is Tsukishima Kei. He’s my – my –” Friend? True. Boyfriend? Not true, but they were currently on a fake date and they were supposed to be practicing. “My Tsukki,” he eventually concluded.  
   
“Oh, okay!” Yachi said, obviously confused. “Nice meeting you, Tsukishima-kun.”

“Same,” Tsukishima said in a dismissive tone that made it obvious it wasn’t. Yamaguchi scrunched up his forehead. While it was true that Tsukishima wasn’t always the easiest to get along with, he was at least fairly polite when dealing with strangers until they did something to bother him. And all Yachi had done was say hi to Yamaguchi. “Can we put in our order any time soon?” asked Tsukishima. “The movie’s about to start.”

“No problem!” Yachi chirped, wringing her hands nervously. So Yamaguchi hadn’t imagined Tsukishima’s bad impression. They ordered, Tsukishima paid, and Yachi gave Yamaguchi her contact information so they could hang out soon; Yamaguchi had just finished saving her number into his phone when he noticed that Tsukishima had already walked away with the popcorn and their drinks. He hurried after him, calling a good-bye to Yachi as he went.  
   
“What was that?” Yamaguchi asked, out of breath, once he finally caught up.  
   
“What was what?” Tsukishima said. He stared straight ahead, but even in the low light of the movie theater lobby, Yamaguchi could see two spots of color high up on his cheeks. Yamaguchi felt weird about the whole thing, but he was about to let it go anyway when Tsukishima said, “Your ex-girlfriend is cute. Why’d you two break up anyway? You two would look adorable together.”  
   
Yamaguchi hadn’t known the words _cute_ and _adorable_ could sound so ugly. “Yachi and I never dated,” he said.  
   
“Oh?”

“No,” Yamaguchi said, “but even if we had, I’d still be nice to her. I like being nice to people. Being a dick takes too much energy.”

And just as if someone had drained all of _Tsukishima’s_ energy, his shoulders sagged as they reached the door to their theater. “I’m aware.” He pursed his lips and mumbled, “Sorry. I don’t even know why I did that. If you talk to your friend later, tell her I’m sorry for being myself.”  
   
“I won’t tell her that,” Yamaguchi said quietly. He held the door open for Tsukishima because his hands were full, then whispered, “I will tell her you’re sorry for acting like a jerk, even though you’re actually a nice person.”

Tsukishima snorted. “Says you.”  
   
“Yeah,” Yamaguchi said, holding his head high. “Says me.”  
   
“I’ll try not to make a liar out of you,” Tsukishima said and rolled his eyes, but Yamaguchi could tell he was trying not to show that he was happy.  
   
The two of them found their seats; the theater wasn’t very full, since it was the middle of the week, but Yamaguchi was the type that easily got engrossed in storylines and didn’t even realize where he was after a while. Yamaguchi could have been absorbed into the giant screen without a problem, as long as he still had his popcorn.

Which is why he barely realized it at first when Tsukishima yawned, loud and exaggerated, and dropped his arm behind Yamaguchi’s shoulders, pulling him in tight. In fact, Yamaguchi was already instinctually snuggling into Tsukishima’s side before he even grasped what was going on. Then he nearly jumped out of his seat.  
   
“ _Tsukki_ ,” Yamaguchi hissed, “you don’t have to put fake moves on me when we’re on a fake date!”  
   
“It just seemed kind of couple-y. Don’t you like it?” Tsukishima asked.  
   
“It’s pretty cheesy,” Yamaguchi admitted. Tsukishima started to take his arm away. “No, don’t do that,” he said, not realizing what was coming out of his mouth.  
   
But Tsukishima just pressed his lips together, on the verge of laughter. “Don’t worry, I have better fake moves,” he assured Yamaguchi.  
   
Yamaguchi raised his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah?”  
   
“Mmm,” Tsukishima agreed. Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to Yamaguchi’s cheek. Tsukishima’s lips were warm and soft and used just the right amount of pressure, and even though it was only a kiss on the cheek, it still made Yamaguchi’s face burn. Tsukishima shifted away, though he kept his arm around Yamaguchi’s shoulders. “Better?”  
   
“Uh-huh,” said Yamaguchi weakly.  
   
He really didn’t think he’d be able to follow the rest of the movie now. More importantly, he really didn’t think he could keep his feelings to himself much longer.  
   
*  
   
The next night Yamaguchi didn’t have work or class or any other plans, so he was allegedly studying. Allegedly, because he’d read a paragraph and then immediately lose his place because he wondered what his next date with Tsukishima would be. The fact that they were only having fake dates didn’t seem to matter to Yamaguchi’s imagination, which was annoying, but not enough to shake him out of his fantasy world.  
   
Yamaguchi glanced at his phone. “I’m not going to text him,” he told it. “I’m studying. I can text him later.”  
   
The phone stared back at him passively.  
   
“What would I even say?” he asked it.  
   
Just then, the phone lit up with a message and Yamaguchi nearly dropped it in surprise. _Busy tonight?_ it read. Two little words from Tsukishima and his heart was already racing.  
   
_nope, tsukki!_ he sent back. Yamaguchi stared guiltily at the pile of readings and homework he should be doing. _well i am kinda procrastinating._  
   
Tsukishima sent back a smiley emoji, which was weird coming from him. Weird and cute. _Me too_ , he added. _Want to procrastinate with me at my place? You should at least know what it looks like before Friday, in case my parents talk about it._  
   
Yamaguchi forced himself to count to thirty before he replied with, _sure._ Very cool, very casual, even though he was dying inside. He knew Tsukishima didn’t live with his parents, but he didn’t know what his living situation actually was. Was the place big? Did he have roommates? Did he live so far away that agreeing to this blind was kind of idiotic? _send me the address and i’ll be over asap_.  
   
Tsukishima pinned a location to their messages, and it wasn’t too far away, though Yamaguchi would have to take another dreaded train. He jumped up and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. His jeans were fine, but he changed out of his old high school gym shirt and into a long-sleeved blue shirt from their store instead. Yamaguchi ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it, but gave up as usual. Then, he shoved some books into his bag and took a deep breath.  
   
“Okay,” he told himself. “You can do this.”  
   
Half an hour later, Yamaguchi nervously shuffled from foot to foot, waiting for Tsukishima to open his door.  
   
“Hey,” Tsukishima said, framing the doorway. He was dressed even more casually than Yamaguchi – seemed liked the old gym shirt would have been okay – and wasn’t wearing slippers. Seeing Tsukishima standing around in his socks seemed kind of intimate, even though Yamaguchi was probably weird for thinking that. “Sorry about the mess.”  
  
He stood back, letting Yamaguchi take his shoes off and get a good look around. The place was small, just a studio meant for one person, which Yamaguchi thought made sense for Tsukishima. The biggest features were flat-screen television on a stand with a couple of game systems underneath, and his bed. A small stack of books and papers sat next to his bed, but other than that, everything looked like it was in its proper place. If this was Tsukishima’s idea of a mess, he’d probably die if he set foot in Hinata’s room. Some days it looked like a bomb went off in there. Yamaguchi told him as much and Tsukishima nodded, unsurprised.  
   
“He’s kind of like a personality bomb,” said Tsukishima.  
   
“What do you mean?”  
   
“You know,” Tsukishima said, waving his hand dismissively, “bouncing all over the place, destroying everything in his wake.”

Yamaguchi laughed behind his hand. “Mean,” he said, without heat.  
   
“Everyone needs a brand,” Tsukishima said. He started heading toward the small kitchen. “Make yourself at home, I’m going to go see if I have any tea. I’m also a bad host, if you couldn’t have already guessed.”  
   
“You’re doing fine,” Yamaguchi assured him. He looked around for someplace to get comfortable, but realized because of the small space and Tsukishima’s bed taking up so much room, there weren’t any chairs. Yamaguchi walked over to the bed, leaned over to test its firmness, and then dropped straight down to the floor, sitting cross-legged. A wave of embarrassment washed over him as he waited for Tsukishima to finish up. A normal person would just sit on the edge of the bed and not make a big deal of it; after all, it wasn’t like Tsukishima asked him to pull back the covers and crawl inside. At that thought, he experienced a wave of something else.

But if Tsukishima thought Yamaguchi was being weird for sitting on the floor, he didn’t mention it when he got back. He just said, “I have water.”

Yamaguchi grinned. “No tea, then?”  
   
Tsukishima shook his head. “I put the water on a tray,” he said. “Only the best for my guests.”  
   
“Very fancy,” Yamaguchi agreed. 

“Thanks, I try.” Tsukishima bent over to set the tray of fancy waters down on the floor and then joined Yamaguchi. He sat close enough that his knee touched Yamaguchi’s knee. “Can I tell you a secret?” asked Tsukishima.  
   
Yamaguchi’s eyes widened and he nodded.  
   
“I really don’t want to do any of my work tonight,” said Tsukishima. He reached back and shoved his pile of books and papers over.  
   
Yamaguchi laughed. “Rebel.” He looked down at his legs and then back up at Tsukishima’s face. “Is – is there anything else you’d rather do?”  
   
“Yes,” Tsukishima said and leaned closer. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about since you said you’d come over.”  
   
“Oh?” Yamaguchi tried not to think too hard about how close Tsukishima now was, how if he just reached up, he could thread his fingers through Tsukishima’s hair and find out how soft it was.  
   
“Yeah.” Tsukishima leaned in close. “I want to kick your ass at Mario Kart.”  
   
Yamaguchi laughed so hard that his head thumped against Tsukishima’s bed. “If you think you can!”  
   
Tsukishima smirked. “I knew you weren’t as nice as you look.” He got up to turn on his tv and console.

“I’m plenty nice,” Yamaguchi complained, taking a controller from Tsukishima. “I’m just also great at Mario Kart and competitive as hell. Not-jock, remember?”  
   
“Of course I remember.” Tsukishima sat down right next to Yamaguchi again; if he didn’t know better, Yamaguchi would swear Tsukishima was making their legs touch on purpose. Either way, Yamaguchi knew that he liked it.  
   
The races were as fast and furious as, well, any of The Fast and The Furious movies. Yamaguchi wasn’t lying; he _was_ great at Mario Kart, but Tsukishima was, too. And while Tsukishima didn’t yell the way Yamaguchi did whenever ink splattered his windshield or a blue shell hit him, but he still leaned forward and swore under his breath whenever he was losing. He also did the cutest little fist clench every time he managed to wind up in first place. At the end of everything, Yamaguchi managed to edge out Tsukishima by winning one more race than him, but it was a photo finish.  
   
Tsukishima groaned as Yamaguchi gloated over his victory, sliding his controller across the floor and dramatically throwing one arm over his face. “A complete defeat,” he said.

“ _Yeah_ , it was,” Yamaguchi said. He gulped down his entire glass of only-the-best-for-guests water and beamed, suddenly noticing the time on Tsukishima’s bedside alarm clock. “Oh, it’s so late! Why does time always go so fast when we’re hanging out?”

Tsukishima lowered his arm and raised his eyebrows. “I’m a magician,” he said.  
   
“Of course, I should have seen it all along.” Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I have to get going pretty soon if I’m going to make the last train.” He smiled shyly. “Thanks for inviting me over. Procrastinating here was way better than the procrastinating I was doing at home.”  
   
“Same. I had fun,” Tsukishima said. His voice was even, but he wasn’t looking at Yamaguchi. Then, he cleared his throat, still staring out. “Hey, should we try a practice dating thing? You know, since you’re here?”  
   
Yamaguchi’s stupid heart started pounding hard. “If – if you want,” he said. “Did you have something specific in mind?”  
   
Tsukishima finally looked at Yamaguchi just then; their eyes locked and the thumping in Yamaguchi’s chest went wild enough that he started seriously worrying for his health. Then, Tsukishima shuffled even closer and he pressed his palm against Yamaguchi’s cheek. Without thinking, Yamaguchi leaned into the touch. “We should try this once,” Tsukishima said. “For realism, right?”  
   
“Right,” Yamaguchi agreed faintly.  
   
Tsukishima slowly moved in closer, and as his face drew near, Yamaguchi’s eyes slid shut. At first, he barely felt it when Tsukishima’s lips touched his, but neither of them pulled away. Yamaguchi tilted his head and moved in, fitting their mouths more closely together, and he definitely heard Tsukishima make a surprised noise at that. Yamaguchi opened his eyes again.  
   
Tsukishima pulled back, eyes wide. He swallowed visibly enough that Yamaguchi’s eyes drifted to his throat. “Tadashi, I think –”  
   
Yamaguchi didn’t want to hear it yet. He didn’t want to hear Tsukishima let him down gently, now that he had to know everything about him. There was no way anyone could deny it after a kiss like that, especially not someone as smart as Tsukishima. Instead, he just wanted to have this for a little bit longer, so Yamaguchi pulled Tsukishima in by the shirt and kissed him again, hard.  
   
This was no gentle press of lips. Tsukishima gasped and Yamaguchi took that chance to open his mouth, too, holding tight to Tsukishima’s t-shirt. Yamaguchi felt Tsukishima’s hand clutch at his shoulder and pull him closer. Everything was warm and wet and Yamaguchi had no idea how he could ever give this up now.  
   
It was a mistake. Everything about this was a mistake.  
   
Yamaguchi abruptly pulled back and took a shaky breath. He let Tsukishima’s shirt go, staring hard at the crumpled material because he couldn’t meet Tsukishima’s eyes. “Tsukki, I’m so sorry. This isn’t pretend for me,” he confessed, scrambling up to gather his things. “It never was. I’m sorry if this messes up your plans.”  
   
“Yamaguchi, wait,” Tsukishima said, struggling to climb to his feet.  
   
“No, it’s okay,” said Yamaguchi. He hitched his bag up on his shoulder as Tsukishima stood, looking dazed. “I get it, you’re mad. I’d be mad, too. I shouldn’t have lied to you, but I’ve liked you forever. _Really_ liked you.”  
   
Then, because he had no sense of self-preservation, he tilted his head up and kissed Tsukishima once more. This one was short and sweet and Tsukishima didn’t even punch him for the presumption. Yamaguchi was out the door and on the street before he even gave himself a chance to look back.

Well. At least now Tsukishima knew.  
   
*  
   
That day he was working till closing. Yamaguchi was the only cashier scheduled, but the store was empty. Sugawara and Kageyama were hitting a beach ball out on the floor anyway, so he wasn’t too concerned about getting extra help if he needed it. It was a little hard to focus on his job, though, since he was so preoccupied. Plus, his head and his heart hurt. It turned out heartbreak made it hard to do retail jobs, who knew?  
   
“You okay?” Sugawara asked, coming up to the register and startling Yamaguchi. He held the beach ball under one arm and wore a sympathetic smile. “Sorry if it’s none of my business, but you seem kind of preoccupied.”  
   
“It’s fine,” said Yamaguchi, and shot him a tired smile. “I just let someone think I’m something I’m not, and he found out.” He shrugged. “Technically, I told him.”  
   
Sugawara tilted his head. “Is this a catfishing thing? Are you bilking people for cash online?” He leaned in more. “Can I get in on it?”  
   
Yamaguchi let out a surprised burst of laughter. Letting a happy feeling wash over him felt good, even if it was just for a second. “No! Nothing like that, Sugawara-san. I’ll be okay, I promise.”  
   
“Well, okay,” Sugawara said skeptically. “If you say so.”  
   
The door to the shop swung open then, and the smile slid from Yamaguchi’s face as quickly as it had appeared. The last person he expected to see just then was Tsukishima, and yet, here he was.

“What are you doing here?” Kageyama said. “You don’t work today.”

“Shopping,” Tsukishima said, looking all around the store like he’d never seen it before. “That’s something you can do here, right?”  
   
“Whatever, weirdo.” Kageyama rolled his eyes and walked off toward a row of jackets.  
   
Tsukishima sniffed. “Some customer service.”

Sugawara walked up to Tsukishima, his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. “Hello, sir,” he said, playing along. “Have you ever shopped with us before?”  
   
“No,” Tsukishima said, looking Sugawara up and down. “I don’t want you. Is anyone else working today?” He deliberately stared in Yamaguchi’s direction, and Yamaguchi could see it on Sugawara’s face when all his missing pieces fell into place.  
   
“Stop being rude,” Sugawara said, grinning. Then he reached up to ruffle Tsukishima’s hair and shoved him toward Yamaguchi.  
   
Yamaguchi stared, wide-eyed. “Tsukki –” He caught himself and shook his head. It was presumptuous of him to assume he could keep using that nickname. “Sorry. Tsukishima, what’s going on?”

Tsukishima adjusted his glasses. “I take it you work here?” he asked. He leaned in and squinted at Yamaguchi’s name tag. “Would you be able to assist me, Yamaguchi?”  
   
“You know he works here,” Kageyama grunted from across the store. “And he’s a cashier, not a floor model. Pick out your own mmf–”  
   
Sugawara slapped a hand over Kageyama’s mouth and smiled sweetly. “Go ahead, Yamaguchi. I’ll ring up anyone else who comes in.”  
   
“O—okay.” Yamaguchi walked around to the front of his station. He felt a little weird out there, without the protective barrier that usually separated him from the rest of the store and with Tsukishima looking at him like that. But the thing was, even though he was acting _weird_ , Tsukishima didn’t seem to be _mad_.  
   
“I have an event coming up,” said Tsukishima, folding his hands in front of himself. “It’s sort of a big one.”

“Oh?” asked Yamaguchi, confused.

Tsukishima nodded. “It’s nothing formal, it’s just important to me personally. Can you help me pick out an outfit?” He headed off toward the racks with Yamaguchi following behind. He started pulling things at random and handing them off to Yamaguchi.  
   
Yamaguchi nervously licked his lips. “What – what kind of event is it?”

“Well,” Tsukishima said, giving Yamaguchi a stack of sweaters, “I’m supposed to be having dinner at my parents’ house tomorrow night and originally I was bringing a guest.”

“Tsukki, I –”  
   
“The problem is,” Tsukishima continued, as though he hadn’t even heard Yamaguchi, “my guest thinks he was just doing me a favor and now I don’t think he’s coming anymore because he thought he misled me. Which he did, but the truth is, I haven’t been completely honest with him, either.” 

Yamaguchi froze. “You haven’t?”  
   
Tsukishima handed Yamaguchi several pairs of jeans, making the pile so high that Yamaguchi could only peek over it. But even with his vision partially obstructed, he could see that the corners of Tsukishima’s mouth were turned down. “No. See, the thing is, I –” Tsukishima took a deep breath. “I like him. I have for a while. He’s very cute, even though he doesn’t seem to realize it.”

“Cute?” Yamaguchi squeaked.

“ _Very_ cute,” Tsukishima corrected. “And when I got caught in a jam, he was the first person I thought of, but that only made the problem worse.”  
   
“Worse how?”

“Well, I got to know him better and now I like him even more, and I don’t think he knows. I still want him to come along tomorrow, too, even though the circumstances have changed.”  
   
This was so much that Yamaguchi couldn’t even process what was happening right now. Tsukishima liked him? Tsukishima had liked him for a long time? Tsukishima was in the store right now and _telling him this_?  
   
Yamaguchi dropped the pile of clothes.  
   
“Oi. You’d better clean that up,” Kageyama called.

“Shut up, Kageyama,” Yamaguchi said, staring straight at Tsukishima. He stepped over the mess and grabbed Tsukishima’s hands. They were cold, but quickly began to warm up. “You know, if you want this guy to meet your parents, you should ask him again. I bet he’d want to.”  
   
Tsukishima was wearing the most hopeful look imaginable. “Does that – do you mean you still want to go?”

“Of course I do,” Yamaguchi said and squeezed Tsukishima’s hands. “Just… no more fake stuff.”

“No more fake stuff,” Tsukishima agreed. He huffed out a laugh. “What a relief.”

Yamaguchi lifted his chin and pressed his mouth to Tsukishima’s. This kiss was so warm and sweet that his toes curled. He couldn’t wait to do it again and again.

“Aw!” Sugawara exclaimed.

“Ew,” Kageyama said.

But he could have done without the audience. And apparently he wasn’t alone in that: When Yamaguchi pulled away, Tsukishima shot them both the finger.

*

The next night, they met up at the train station. Both of their trains were right on time, which had to be some sort of karmic gift. 

Actually, the whole last day seemed like it had been a karmic gift. Yamaguchi linked his pinky with Tsukishima’s, and they stayed like that most of the way to Tsukishima’s parents’ house. They walked along in silence, but it was so comfortable that Yamaguchi couldn’t shake the smile from his face.

“Hinata said to say congratulations,” Yamaguchi said after a bit, still grinning.

“Finally, the approval I so crave,” Tsukishima deadpanned.

“And,” Yamaguchi added, “he also told me that we traumatized Kageyama by kissing in front of him. He called Hinata as soon as his shift was over to tell him so.”

Tsukishima laughed. “Okay, that was news worth sharing.” He grabbed Yamaguchi’s hand fully and tugged him along. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

Their house looked nice from the outside, lit up and welcoming, bigger than the house Yamaguchi grew up in. As they walked to the door, he felt nervous, but the undercurrent of dread that Yamaguchi had experienced throughout their whole fake dating experiment was gone. 

This wasn’t fake, after all.

As if reading his thoughts, Tsukishima leaned in for a quick kiss. “I’m going to take you on a real date after this,” he said, then rang the doorbell.

Yamaguchi felt his face go hot, some pleasure-embarrassment combination that he probably needed to get used to. “I can’t wait,” he said honestly.

The door opened then. Tsukishima’s parents were both there, smiling and friendly. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi took a deep breath and looked at each other.

“Mom, Dad,” Tsukishima said, and squeezed Yamaguchi’s hand, “I want you to meet my boyfriend, Yamaguchi Tadashi.”


End file.
